JPH10124199A - Peripheral equipment controlling method for computer system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to normally execute a hibernation function without requesting such a voltage as to exceed battery voltage that falls to the lower limit in a computer system that executes storage of processing data when the battery voltage falls to the lower limit level during battery operation. SOLUTION: HDD(hard disk drive) is made active before battery voltage reaches the lower limit level, and when it reaches the lower limit level, data storage is carried out. That is, the battery voltage is detected and whether it is normal is decided (S30), and when it is not normal, whether the battery voltage reaches a reference level (LB) before the lower limit value is monitored (S40). When it drops to the reference level (LB), the power is supplied to the HDD to turn the standby to be active (S50). After this, under monitoring the battery voltage (S60), when it falls to the reference level (LLB) of data storage, hibernation which stores processing data in the HDD is carried out (S70).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a computer system, and more particularly, to a portable computer system using a battery.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 1 schematically shows the appearance of a portable computer system 100 driven by a battery. The computer main unit 10 includes a main board on which elements for executing a program and executing data processing are mounted, and a hard disk drive (HD) for storing data.
D) 12 is provided as a peripheral device. The data processing result of the computer main body 10 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 20. This computer system 100 can operate by power supply from a battery 13. Although not shown in FIG. 1, a CD-ROM is also mounted as a peripheral device.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the computer main unit 10 in detail. That is, a system bus (PCI BU) through which various signals and data are transmitted.
S, ISA BUS, HOST BUS, etc.) 210,
Various ports (SERIAL, PARALLEL, I /
R) 244, 246, 248 and an I / O controller 240 for controlling a flexible disk drive (FDD) 242, the HDD 12, and the CD-ROM drive 23.
4 that controls the PCMCI
A controller 270 and an SRA as an internal storage device
M250, ROM 272, RAM 272, CPU 276 and microcomputer 212 for executing data processing, power supply unit 220 having external power supply adapter 222 and battery 13, and VR for controlling liquid crystal display 20
And a video board 260 having an AM 262. Keyboard 214 and mouse 2 for data input
16 is connected to the microcomputer 212.

FIG. 3 shows an internal configuration of an HDD 12 used as a peripheral device of a computer system. The HDD 12 has a body 310, a recording medium disk 311, a spindle motor 312 for rotating and driving the disk 311 with a predetermined level of power supply, and a head 313 attached to an actuator 314 to access data. Although not shown, the body 310
Inside, a circuit board including a CPU for an HDD that is in charge of power supply control and operation control is installed.

[0005] The portable computer system 100 having such a configuration has a normal power supply (A) using an adapter 222.
C110-220V) or battery power. In battery operation, it is very important that the operation duration be as long as possible, and in addition, the battery voltage will be consumed from the normal operating level to a low level low battery state, and even lower low low battery (low battery). It is important to sense when the low battery condition is reached. That is, unless the low battery or the low-low battery state is sensed and the countermeasures are taken, the power is turned off due to battery discharge in the middle of the process, and the data is stopped.

Therefore, in the portable computer system, various modes as shown in Table 1 are set to save power, and finally, data being processed is automatically stored in order to prevent data loss. A safety function is provided to turn off the power after that.

[Table 1]

In accordance with each of these power saving modes, the HDD 1
2 is in a power saving state as shown in Table 2.

[Table 2]

Referring to Tables 1 and 2, a power saving mode of a portable computer system is a normal mode.
ode), system stand-by mode
mode), HDD standby mode, suspend ram mode (suspend ram mode), and off mode (off mo
The power saving control is divided into HDD, LCD, CPU and main system in relation to power consumption and system operation control. Among them, the HDD 12 directly related to data storage is in the system standby mode and in the H mode.
It is in a standby state (non-active) so that it can operate when required in the DD standby mode.

In the standby state of the HDD 12, the CPU
While the circuit section having the above-mentioned state is kept on, the power supply to the mechanical section including the spindle motor 312 and the actuator 314 is cut off. Thereby, power consumption can be suppressed.

[0010] When the battery voltage level becomes low after a long use, a hibernation function for storing data being processed is executed. FIG. 4
It is shown in At this time, the HDD 12 is in a standby state.

In a long battery operation, the output voltage level of the battery becomes low battery level (L) as shown in FIG. 4A.
B), but at this time, as shown in FIG.
Peripheral devices such as the DD 12 are in a standby state. Then, when the battery operation is further continued from the low battery, the battery voltage reaches the lower low battery level (LLB). When a low-low battery is reached, a command S for performing a hibernation function is issued from a microcomputer 212 that senses the output voltage level of the battery.
In response to the occurrence of an MI (system management interrupt), the CPU 276 in response to this restarts the power supply to the mechanical part of the HDD 12 to wake it up. This allows HDD
12 returns to the active state, and the data being processed is stored in the disk 311. Thereafter, when the power is turned off, the data is saved.

[0012]

As described above, when a low-low battery at the lower limit of the battery level is detected during continuous use, a hibernation function of activating peripheral devices from standby, saving data, and then turning off the power is performed. However, the amount of power consumed at the start of driving of the spindle motor 312 of the HDD mechanical part is considerably large. That is, as shown in FIG. 4C, a phenomenon occurs in which the power demand (B) of the computer system requires a level higher than the voltage level of the low-low battery (LLB). When this phenomenon occurs, a shutdown occurs in order to perform a normal hibernation function, and data is lost.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a method for controlling a peripheral device of a computer system, which stores data during processing when the battery voltage drops to a lower limit level during battery operation, without requiring power that exceeds the battery voltage. , So that the hibernation function can be normally performed.

[0014]

Therefore, according to the present invention, when the battery voltage is at a predetermined level before reaching the lower limit level, peripheral devices related to data storage are activated, and the battery voltage is reduced to the lower limit level. The data storage is executed when the number of times reaches the maximum. As the predetermined level before reaching the lower limit level, the voltage level of the low battery may be set.

In other words, according to the present invention, in a method for controlling a peripheral device of a computer system for executing storage of data during processing when a battery voltage falls to a predetermined data storage reference level during battery operation, the present invention provides a method for controlling a peripheral device having a data storage reference level. Detecting the level of the battery voltage until it falls to a second high reference level;
And activating a predetermined peripheral device when the level falls to the reference level. Detecting a battery voltage level from a second reference level to a data storage reference level; and peripheral device being activated at the second reference level when the battery voltage drops to the data storage reference level. And performing a process of saving the data being processed and turning off the power.

Further, according to the present invention, in a method for controlling a peripheral device of a computer system for executing processing of storing data during processing when a battery voltage falls to a predetermined data storage reference level during battery operation, a power supply by an external power supply is provided. Determining whether the battery voltage is within the normal range by detecting the level of the battery voltage if it is not the external power supply; and determining a second level higher than the data storage reference level if the battery voltage is not within the normal range. Monitoring whether the voltage drops to a reference level; and activating a predetermined peripheral device when the battery voltage drops to the second reference level. Monitoring whether the battery voltage drops from the second reference level to the data storage reference level; executing the storage of the data being processed when the battery voltage drops to the data storage reference level; and turning off the power. , Is included.

According to the present invention, in a computer system for storing data during processing when a battery voltage falls to a predetermined data storage reference level during battery operation, a voltage level detecting unit for detecting a level of the battery voltage; Comparing a voltage value detected by the voltage level detection unit with a switching unit provided in a power supply path to a peripheral device with the data storage reference level and a second reference level higher than the data storage reference level. A battery state-of-charge judging unit for judging a state of charge, and controlling the switching unit and the peripheral device according to the judgment result of the battery state-of-charge judging unit, and supplying power to the peripheral device when the battery voltage reaches the second reference level And a control unit for restoring the active state.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 5 is a computer system block diagram of a part related to a method of controlling peripheral devices when the voltage level drops. That is, a system power supply battery 410, a peripheral device 430 such as an HDD or a CD-ROM drive, a voltage level detection unit 440 for detecting the output level of the battery 410, and a power supply path to the peripheral device 430 are provided. A switching unit 420 and a battery charge state determination unit that receives the voltage value of the detection result from the voltage level detection unit 440, compares the voltage value with an internal reference value, determines the charge state of the battery 410, and outputs a control signal (SMI). 450, and a control unit 460 that controls the power of the switching unit 420 and the peripheral device 430 in response to the control signal (SMI) of the battery charge state determination unit 450.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing the details of voltage level detecting section 440. This voltage level detection unit 440
First to third resistors R connected in series between a power supply voltage terminal 441 for applying a battery voltage and a ground voltage terminal 442.
1, R2 and R3, a first node 443a between the first resistor R1 and the second resistor R2, and a second resistor R2 and a third resistor R
The second node 443b during the period 3 is connected to the battery charge state determination unit 450 of the microcomputer. These nodes 4
A second reference level (VrefLB) indicating a low battery state and a data storage reference level (VrefLLB) indicating a low / low battery state are set from 43a and 443b. Then, when the battery voltage falls, the voltage of node 443a becomes VrefL of the data storage reference level.
When the LB is matched, the activation of the peripheral device 430 is performed.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of the peripheral device control method. With reference to this, the peripheral device control method of the computer system having the above configuration will be described. Here, the description will be limited to the case where the peripheral device 430 is an HDD.

In this example, first, it is determined whether the power supply of the computer system is provided by an external power supply (AC adapter) (step S10). In the case of an external power supply, the HDD 430 is used in the normal mode setting (step S20),
In the case of power supply by the battery 410, the battery 41
An output voltage level of 0 is detected, and it is determined whether or not the power is in a normal power state (a predetermined level or more) (step S30).
As a result, if the battery voltage is within the normal range, for example, HDD power saving control in the normal mode is executed (step S2).
0).

On the other hand, when the battery voltage level is not in the normal power state, the power saving mode is executed, and the battery voltage is set to the low battery level (L
B) is monitored (step S40). The battery level is continuously monitored until the battery voltage does not drop to the low battery level (LB). When the battery voltage drops to the low battery level (LB), H
The power is supplied to the DD 430 to return from the standby mode (power saving mode) to be active (step S50).

Thereafter, the detection of the battery voltage level is performed, and it is monitored whether or not the data storage reference low-low battery level (LLB), which is the lower limit level, is reached (step S60). As long as the battery voltage does not drop to the low-low battery level (LLB), level detection is continuously performed, and then the low-low battery level (LLL) is detected.
When the process goes down to B), the hibernation function of recording and storing the data being processed in the HDD 430 is executed (step S70).

After the data being processed is saved, the computer system is automatically turned off (step S80).

[0026]

Conventionally, when the battery voltage drops to the low-low battery state, the power demand exceeds the battery output in order to activate the peripheral device and store the data. Since the peripheral device is activated when the voltage is higher than the voltage level of the battery, for example, when there is still enough voltage in the low-battery state, and the low-low battery state is set, data storage is executed. A sudden increase in power demand can be prevented, and the hibernation function can be executed more safely.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a portable computer system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a portable computer system.

FIG. 3 is a partially broken perspective view illustrating a configuration of a hard disk drive.

FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating a change in the level of a battery voltage according to a use time and an operation state of a hard disk drive.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a peripheral device control-related portion according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of a voltage level detection unit.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a peripheral device control method according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 410 Battery 420 Switching unit 430 Peripheral device 440 Voltage level detection unit 450 Battery charge state determination unit 460 Control unit

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A method for controlling a peripheral device of a computer system, wherein during processing of a battery, when the battery voltage falls to a lower limit level, the processing of the data during processing is performed, wherein the data is stored when the battery voltage is at a predetermined level before reaching the lower limit level. A peripheral device control method, wherein a peripheral device related to storage is activated, and data storage is executed when a battery voltage reaches a lower limit level. 2. The peripheral device control method according to claim 1, wherein power-off processing is performed after execution of data storage. 3. The peripheral device control method according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral device is a hard disk drive. 4. A method for controlling a peripheral device of a computer system, wherein during processing of a battery, when a battery voltage drops to a predetermined data storage reference level, a second reference higher than the data storage reference level. Detecting the level of the battery voltage until it drops to a level;
Activating a predetermined peripheral device when the battery voltage falls to the second reference level. 5. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: detecting a battery voltage level from a second reference level to a data storage reference level; and activating the battery voltage at the second reference level when the battery voltage drops to the data storage reference level. The peripheral device control method according to claim 4, further comprising: executing a storage of the data being processed using the peripheral device, and turning off the power. 6. The peripheral device control method according to claim 4, wherein the peripheral device is a hard disk drive. 7. A method for controlling a peripheral device of a computer system for executing processing of storing data during processing when a battery voltage falls to a predetermined data storage reference level during operation of a battery, comprising: determining whether power is supplied by an external power supply; If the battery voltage is not an external power source, the battery voltage level is detected to determine whether the battery voltage is within a normal range. If the battery voltage is not within the normal range, the battery voltage falls to a second reference level higher than the data storage reference level. Monitoring,
Activating a predetermined peripheral device when the battery voltage falls to the second reference level. 8. A step of monitoring whether the battery voltage drops from the second reference level to the data storage reference level, and executing the storage of the data being processed when the battery voltage drops to the data storage reference level, and turning off the power. The method according to claim 7, further comprising the step of: 9. The peripheral device control method according to claim 7, wherein the peripheral device is a hard disk drive. 10. A computer system for storing data during processing when a battery voltage falls to a predetermined data storage reference level during battery operation, a voltage level detecting unit for detecting a level of the battery voltage,
A switching unit provided in a power supply path to a peripheral device, and a voltage value detected by the voltage level detection unit,
Comparing the data storage reference level and a second reference level higher than the data storage reference level to determine the state of charge of the battery; and the switching unit and the peripheral device according to the determination result of the battery state of charge determination unit. And a control unit that controls and activates the power supply to the peripheral device when the battery voltage reaches the second reference level. 11. The computer system according to claim 10, wherein the peripheral device is a hard disk drive.